WDK warns Germany could lose rubber production by 2035

Berlin – The German rubber industry association, WDK has warned that Germany could lose its rubber manufacturing industry by 2035 unless policymakers address high energy costs and regulatory burdens.

“The majority of specialists in the German rubber sector expect that there will be no rubber production in Germany by 2035,” Boris Engelhardt, managing director of WDK, said in a 22 June statement.

Sharing the outcome of a recent WDK association day event, Engelhardt said that participants agreed that “energy costs and bureaucratic burdens” were the main reasons behind the sector’s declining competitiveness.

The WDK chief criticised the current financial state of Germany, arguing that reforms should focus on the causes of economic weakness rather than its symptoms.

“The latest open letters from the chemical and metal industry are more than warnings. They are farewell letters reflecting the failure to improve Germany’s business environment,” he noted.

Calling on 'those responsible' to act now, Engelhardt said action was required so that the 'industrial share' in Germany does not fall further.

Measures, he said, are needed to defend Germany “against low-cost competition with ambivalent local content protection measures."

“Instead, ministries and the federal government are lost in the minutiae of bureaucracy,” said Engelhardt, pointing to energy costs and bureaucracy as examples.

Engelhardt also criticised government relief measures for industry, arguing that they create “more bureaucracy” while delivering “less than one cent per kilowatt-hour” in cost savings, which he said are ineffective.

Calling for a “change of course in Europe,” he urged policymakers to act to prevent further industrial relocation and warned against relying on local-content protection measures to counter low-cost competition.

“Does the EU Commission care if German industry moves from Germany to Eastern Europe? Logically, no, because… industry remains in the EU area,” he said.

Even if production moves outside the EU, Engelhardt said the European Union will not be troubled because “it will make Europe more emission-free.”